Human Evolution
Hear the Musical Sounds of an 18,000-Year-Old Giant Conch
The shell was played for the first time in millennia after being rediscovered in the collections of a French museum
120,000-Year-Old Cattle Bone Carvings May Be World's Oldest Surviving Symbols
Archaeologists found the bone fragment—engraved with six lines—at a Paleolithic meeting site in Israel
An Evolutionary Timeline of Homo Sapiens
Scientists share the findings that helped them pinpoint key moments in the rise of our species
How Dexterous Thumbs May Have Helped Shape Evolution Two Million Years Ago
Fossils and biochemical models show tool-wielding hominins used their hands like we do today
Australian Lungfish Has Biggest Genome Ever Sequenced
The air-breathing fish dethrones the Mexican axolotl for the title of largest known genome in the animal kingdom
How Much Did Grandmothers Influence Human Evolution?
Scientists debate the evolutionary benefits of menopause
Ten New Things We Learned About Human Origins in 2020
Smithsonian’s archaeologist Ella Beaudoin and paleoanthropologist Briana Pobiner reveal some of the year’s best findings in human origins studies
Study Rewrites History of Ancient Land Bridge Between Britain and Europe
New research suggests that climate change, not a tsunami, doomed the now-submerged territory of Doggerland
Two Darwin Notebooks Quietly Went Missing 20 Years Ago. Were They Stolen?
Staff at Cambridge University Libraries previously assumed that the papers had simply been misplaced in the vast collections
Newly Unearthed Skull Reveals How Ancient Hominids Evolved to Survive a Changing Climate
"Paranthropus robustus" evolved sturdier skulls to be able to eat new, tough vegetation
How Human Y Chromosomes Replaced Those of Neanderthals in a Quiet Genetic Takeover
When the two early human species mated, their genomes changed forever
Human Footprints Found in Saudi Arabia May Be 120,000 Years Old
If confirmed, the footfalls would represent the oldest evidence of Homo sapiens' presence on the Arabian Peninsula
200,000-Year-Old Bedding Found in South Africa May Be World's Oldest
New study suggests ancient humans slept on layers of grass and ash, which was used to ward off insects
Humans in the Near East Cremated Their Dead 9,000 Years Ago
Archaeologists found the charred bones of a young adult in the ancient Israeli village of Beisamoun
Europe's Oldest Bone Tools Hint at Early Hominin Sophistication
480,000 years ago, Homo heidelbergensis used hammers to fashion flint tools in what is now southern England
Monkeys’ Attraction to Burned Grasslands May Offer Clues to Human Ancestors’ Mastery of Fire
A new study finds monkeys enter charred savannahs to avoid predators, lending support to a controversial theory about what drew hominins to blazes
Neanderthals May Have Been More Sensitive to Pain Than Most Humans
Modern humans with this Neanderthal-inherited gene report 7 percent more pain than other people
1.4-Million-Year-Old Ax Made of Hippo Bone Found in Ethiopia
Thought to have been made by Homo erectus, the implement adds range and sophistication to the bipedal hominin's toolkit
New Research Suggests Humans Invented String at Least 120,000 Years Ago
Marks found on ancient shells indicate that they were laced together to create necklaces
Brain Gene Tops the List for Making Humans, Human
In a study involving marmosets, a primate genetically similar to humans, researchers have come closer to understanding brain evolution
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